


What Was She Like?

by SkyTurtle



Category: SpongeBob SquarePants (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Angst and Feels, M/M, Military Homophobia, Past Character Death, Post Karen/Plankton Divorce, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:48:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22128964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyTurtle/pseuds/SkyTurtle
Summary: Pearl takes an opportunity to ask Karen some long unanswered questions.--Basically an excuse for me to talk about my headcanons.
Relationships: Eugene Krabs/Sheldon J. Plankton (Mentioned), Karen & Pearl
Comments: 7
Kudos: 48





	What Was She Like?

Karen had never been what you would call 'girly'. As a youth she was the girl that would pick shorts over skirts and chemistry over home economics. She didn't have anything against being traditionally feminine, but she had never been particularly drawn to pink, lace or frills. She'd been a natural tomboy and when she grew up she still found no urge to decorate everything with bows and instead had kept her space and wardrobe practical to a fault. Which is why is came as such a shock to her when young Pearl had declared that the two of them would be going on a “girl's day out”.

She had been so confused that she hadn't even tried to protest. Pearl had said it as if it was already decided and seemed so excited that Karen didn't have the heart to say no. But then again, what even was there to protest? It wasn't as if she disliked the girl. She hardly could have considering how little they interacted.

Refusing hardly seemed justified. The worst that was likely to happen is that Karen would spend an afternoon feeling out of her element and a touch confused, which was a small price to pay if the alternative was hurting Pearl's feelings by rejecting the offer out of hand. But it did still leave her wondering why the peppy seventeen year old would want to spend so much time with forty-nine year old scientist.

“Karen!” Pearl's booming voice called from across cafe, startling her out of her thoughts.

She straightened up in her seat as Pearl bounded over to the table Karen had chosen to wait at, a touch nervous about what on earth the teenager had planned for them.

Pearl threw her bag over the back of the opposite chair and gave an exaggerated stretch. “Good idea meeting here, I need some caffeine before I drop.” She waved to one of the servers. “Hey, could I get a green tea frap with caramel, please?”

The server gave a curt nod and continued about his business as Pearl landed heavily in her chair. Not due to any apparent irritability, she seemed rather cheerful, but rather due to her stature. Karen wondered if she noticed how her strength affected everything she did. “Before you drop, huh? You seem energized to me.”

Pearl laughed. “Nah. Trust me, between exams, cheer squad, my friends, and dad's boyfriend staying with us I'm running on fumes right now.”

Karen winced. “Yeah, sorry about him. I could never get anything done while I was married to Sheldon.”

“Neptune, I can't imagine. And dad calls me over dramatic. Plankton called him a slumlord this morning because he only buys store brand bread and threatened to call the health department, the police, _and_ the HMA. We're not even part of the HMA!”

She could just picture it. Sheldon throwing slices of cheap bread at Eugene with one hand and wielding a cellphone in the other like a weapon. Karen couldn't contain a few giggles, letting out of few undignified snorts. 

Thankfully, Pearl seemed to see the humor too and chuckled with her. “I'm glad my dad's happy, but I don't think I'll ever understand. I mean, why on earth did you marry him?”

Karen sighed. “Oh, honey. I asked myself that a thousand times every week.”

“There must have been something between you two at some point. You're not going to tell me he was just a whim, right?”

The server from before returned with the frappichinno and Karen paused to ask for another latte, taking the moment to mull over an answer. Was this what Pearl wanted? To ask about Sheldon? “I mean, Sheldon and I have been close ever since we were kids. I knew I wanted him to be in my life forever, it just... Took me a long time to realize that we made better friends than spouses. I'm just glad marriage didn't ruin  _ everything _ for us.”

Pearl hummed in agreement, seeming somewhat distracted as she stirred her drink with the straw. “Dad's told me about how you all used to hang together. I even found some old photos of the three of you. You guys seemed happy.”

“Yeah, I guess. We were a group of troublemakers, is what we were. By the time high-school rolled around we already had a reputation for causing havoc.” She tried not to show her curiosity too plainly and just go with the flow of conversation.

A smile spread on Pearls face. “I knew it. Dad likes to pretend that he never had fun as a kid to keep me in line.”

Karen snorted. “No. He had a nose for mischief just as much as he did for money. We even set the school on fire a few times.” Pearl choked on her drink. “Uh, never intentionally and it never got out of hand.”

“Dad didn't even let me handle matches until I was fifteen!”

“Probably because he knew first hand how much damage they could cause.”

The was a brief lull in the conversation as the new latte arrived.

“So, uh...” Pearl started, struggling to sound casual. “Did you guys meet mom in high-school?”

Oh. That's is what this has been about. “Did Eugene never tell you about her?”

She gently shook her head. “Not really, no. He's told me a few things, like that she was pretty and how she, uh... How she died from birth complications. Sometimes he'll compare me to her, like he says I get my artistic streak from her. But whenever I tried to ask about her he'd get weird and sad so I just stopped.”

Karen took a deep breath. She was going to have words with Eugene the next time they were alone. She took a long sip from her latte and prepared herself. “...Yeah, we met her in high-school. Brook. She was a little younger than us. She was pretty like Eugene says. She never straightened her hair so she had short 'fro. But what I remember most about her was that she was really nice. She didn't like to get involved with our trouble making, but she never tattled. She even helped cover for us a few times even though I told her she didn't have to. She was garbage with numbers though, so Eugene would help her with math.”

She paused, wondering if she should go on or if too much information at one time might overwhelm the girl. But Pearl, looking enraptured with the new knowledge, nodded for her to continue.

“Well, uh... Sheldon and I weren't as close to her as Eugene was. But Brook was always pretty cheerful even though her situation wasn't always the best. Then we graduated high-school. Sheldon and I went to college, Eugene joined the Navy. Sheldon and Eugene were mostly estranged at the time, but I tried to keep up contact with them. You, uh... You need to understand that things were different at the time. So when Brook, only barely out of school and unmarried, got pregnant, it caused some issues with her family... And Eugene was dealing with some issues too, it was... Difficult to be queer in the Navy.”

Pearl took in a breath. “Wait, so... Dad isn't my dad? I mean, I know-” She gestured to her arms, pointing out her dark skin tone. A distinct contrast to Eugene's Caucasian self. “But I thought that was just because I got more of my looks from mom...”

Oh, Neptune. Eugene did screw up a lot of things, hadn't he? “Eugene isn't your biological father, no...”

She leaned back in her chair, clearly taken off guard. Karen was prepared to let to conversation drop, maybe even go home early if she needed time, but Pearl eventually took a deep breath. “So.. Who  _ was  _ my father?”

“I only met him in passing. Never caught his name and Brook wasn't eager to talk about him after, well...” _After he left her with a child to care for._ “I know he's where you get that blonde hair though.”

Pearl touched her hair self-consciously, running fingers through the straightened locks.

“Eugene and Brook got married while she was pregnant. It satisfied her family and provided some cover for him, so it worked out... Pearl, I want you to know that even though they only got married because it was convenient, Eugene had every intention of raising you as his own right from the beginning. He wanted to be a father.” 

Pearl took several fidgeting sips from her drink, lost in thought and processing the new information. “And... And my mom?”

“She hadn't planned to have kids yet, but... She was looking forward to having a baby girl. She seemed excited...” 

All at once, tears finally poured from Pearl's eyes, accompanied by choked sniffles. “D-did mom get to... get to meet me?”

Karen reached forward and took one of the girl's hands in hers in a way she hoped was comforting rather than condescending. “Yes, she did. She held you when you were born. She hung on for a little over a week... Medicine wasn't as it is now, there wasn't anything they could do but hope. She held you close the entire time, even when she slept. She barely let the nurses touch you. She loved you very much.”

Pearl gripped her hand as she cried. She never sobbed, only sniffled. “Sorry, Karen. I didn't want to get all emotional.”

“Honey, don't apologize. Eugene should have told you all of this ages ago.” Karen stayed with her and let her cry. She understood why Eugene hadn't told her, the emotions were hard. And despite everything he still had a significant amount of self-hatred over his sexuality, so explaining to Pearl _why_ he wasn't her biological father would have been something he'd avoid like the plague. But leaving his daughter with so many unanswered questions for so much of her life was hardly worth it in Karen's opinion.

After several minutes Pearl dried her eyes. “Thanks, Karen. Do you, uh... Wanna get a manicure or something now? I think I could use a pick-me-up.”

She chuckled at the obvious subject changing. “Yeah, sure.” Pearl was a strong girl, she'd bounce back from this in due time. And between now and then she'd have some serious words with one Mr. Krabs.

**Author's Note:**

> I know I had the initial idea for this fic because of a fanart I saw about a year ago, but I can't find it and I can't remember who made it so I guess I'll die


End file.
